Many varied arrangements have been provided in the prior art for mounting conveyor belt cleaners on a support member mounted transverse to the direction of conveyor belt travel. All of these arrangements have presented certain problems with respect to repair or replacement of individual blade elements.
Sometimes the wiper blades are carried on one end of a torsion spring. The other end of the spring is affixed to a transverse support. Such an arrangement is illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 3,342,312. As the wiper blades wear, periodic replacement is required. Occasionally a wiper blade becomes damaged during regular use and the individual blade must be replaced. In either of these situations the conveyor belt must be shutdown and one of two alternatives is presented to the belt operator. If access permits, the operator may be able to disconnect the individual wiper blades from the support shaft and replace them as needed. In the majority of situations however, access to the underside of the conveyor belt is limited and the entire support shaft must be removed from the side of the conveyor housing. This is often difficult to accomplish because of limited space. The time lost for conveyor shutdown due to wiper blade replacement is a critical factor to be considered.